


Et sorores

by Bluebird2479



Series: In Perpetuum et Unum Diem - fem malec au [4]
Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare
Genre: 5+1 Things, BAMF Alec Lightwood, BAMF Clary Fray, Clary Fray & Alec Lightwood Friendship, F/F, F/M, Female Alec Lightwood, Female Friendship, Gen, Girl Power, Homophobic Language, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Protective Alec Lightwood, Protective Clary Fray, Protective Siblings, Sisters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-15
Updated: 2020-07-15
Packaged: 2021-03-04 20:53:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,247
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25282687
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bluebird2479/pseuds/Bluebird2479
Summary: Six Times Alex was a sister to Clary and one time she returned the favour
Relationships: Clary Fray & Alec Lightwood, Magnus Bane/Alec Lightwood, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Series: In Perpetuum et Unum Diem - fem malec au [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1805611
Comments: 4
Kudos: 67





	Et sorores

**Author's Note:**

> I live for the Fraywood brotp!!!

1\. Post 2×3

Things had been frosty between Clary and Alex even after they got Jace back. Alex was still furious at Jocelyn for trying to kill Jace and Clary was a little scared of trying to talk to her again after Alex angrily declared that Clary didn't belong with them.

But Jace was locked up in the City of Bones and Clary was desperately alone, despite all the people around her. 

Aldertree still had the institute on lockdown so she couldn't go to Simon and Luke. Clary missed her mother but she couldn't go to Jocelyn about Jace, not after what her mother tried to do. There was Izzy, but somehow there was only one person Clary believed could truly understand how wretched she was feeling.

So the night after Jace was locked up, Clary woke up from a horrible nightmare and found herself outside Alex's room.   
She didn't know why she ended up outside her room of all places. Sure she and Alex sort of got along after the initial hostility, but they were never particularly close. And Alex seemed to go back to not trusting Clary after Jocelyn's stunt.

But her fear and hopelessness didn't allow Clary to think clearly and she just needed to feel safe again and that thought brought her to Alex. 

Alex woke up when she sensed footsteps outside her room. Years of dealing with her siblings nightmares made Alex an expert at this sort of thing. Somehow she knew exactly who was outside, had been expecting something like this honestly. She never thought Clary would come to her though.

Sighing, Alex quietly got out of the bed and opened the door to find Clary standing outside in her pajamas, tear tracks on her face and her eyes widening in surprise and fear when she saw Alex.  
Clary opened her mouth to say something and then closed it again. Alex raised an eyebrow and said   
"Well? Are you gonna stand there all night or are you gonna come in?" 

Clary looked bewildered for a second but decided not to question it. Instead she stepped into the room and Alex closed the door behind her and took a deep sigh before turning.  
Clary was sitting on Alex's bed, her knees pulled up to her chest and her head on her knees. Alex was struck by how young she looked and then remembered that it was because Clary really was young, she was basically a child. 18 years old and shouldering the burden of the world. Alex felt guilty for the stuff she said when Jace was missing.  
"Do you want something to drink? Tea?" Alex asked. Clary shook her head. 

"Nightmare?" Alex asked. This time Clary nodded and let out a choked sob and Alex felt her heart break. She reminded her of Izzy when she was younger and still used to crawl into bed with Alex after a nightmare. 

"You wanna talk about it?" Clary shook her head again and Alex was running out of options. She wasn't sure what Clary wanted from her. 

Acting out of instinct, she nudged Clary by her shoulder.  
"C'mon, move over. If your staying here we might as well get comfortable."   
Clary didn't say anything and let Alex maneuver her until she was laying down on one side of the bed. Alex got in on the other side and covered them both with a blanket.

"I can feel him." Alex said softly. She felt Clary turn towards her and she did the same so they were facing each other. Under the faint moonlight, Alex could see the fear and despair written on Clary's face, her eyes bright with tears  
"Is he in pain?" She asked, speaking for the first time   
"No. He's not happy, but he's safe for now and that's what matters. And I'm not gonna rest till we get him back." Alex said firmly

This was what Clary needed, not mindless platitudes and half baked reassurances. Clary could always expect an honest answer from Alex so if she said Jace would be okay, then Clary believed her.

Mostly Clary was grateful Alex didn't ask her why she came to her. More than that she was grateful Alex let her stay. She didn't think she could bear to be alone right then.

"Go to sleep Fray, I'll wake you up if you have another nightmare. Promise." Alex was as stoic and commanding as ever but there was a softer edge to her tone   
"Why are you helping me?" Clary asked, unable to help herself  
Alex rolled her eyes, exasperated   
"Because you're Jace's sister, and Izzy's friend. Because you came to _me_ when you needed someone and I couldn't just turn you down." Alex said, blunt and straightforward as always. Clary nodded, too tired to question her further.

She tried to close her eyes and sleep but her lingering restlessness kept her from giving into the exhaustion. A second later she felt calloused yet gentle fingers carding through her hair and Clary couldn't hold on to conciousness much longer after that. Vaguely she wondered if this is what Alex did when her siblings came to her for nightmares and felt a strange longing for this version of her, the loving big sister.

The next day, Alex woke up to find the bed empty. Things didn't particularly change between her and Clary, they still argued and snarked at each other but there was a small camaraderie as well.

This new found comfort was ruined, however, when Clary found Alex in the corridor with blood on her hands.

2\. 2×5

Alex hated the plan but her guilt clouded her judgement. Standing outside Iris Rouse's door, she felt a growing sense of trepidation and was considering hauling Clary back home.

The door opened and it was too late anyway.

"Who is this? Your Sister?" Iris asked, noticing the protective stance Alex took. Before Clary could answer, Alex cut in  
"Yes, you could say that." Clary looked stunned but quickly schooled her expression when Alex surreptitiously nudged her

"I'm Alex. Alex Lightwood." She told Iris with a meaningful raise of her eyebrow.

Alex hated using her family name to intimidate anyone but right then, Clary's safety was more important and she needed to be sure Iris wouldn't try anything stupid.   
Iris seemed to get the message and huffed indignantly before ordering Alex to leave her weapons if she wanted to come in.

Once inside, Alex didn't let up the overprotective sister act and Clary was confused. She knew Alex was only doing this to warn Iris but a small part of her wished it was true when Alex declared herself her sister. She wished Jace could be like that around her except she knew it wasn't possible, they had too much history between them for Jace to be her brother. More than anything, she wished she didn't feel so damn alone anymore and she needed this to work, needed Jocelyn to come back.

But it ended in disaster and Clary was standing at her mother's funeral. She could feel Alex silently crying beside her and Clary didn't think before reaching out and clutching her hand, squeezing tightly before she let go. Clary could see the guilt and shame in Alex's eyes and she wished she had the strength to tell her she forgave her. But she couldn't do that just yet so she hoped that little gesture conveyed her thoughts.

More than anything, Clary wished she could bring back the feeling she felt when Alex called herself her sister and how safe that made her feel. 

3\. Post 2×12

Alex had been two seconds away from decking Sebastian when Clary's rune finally worked. Her worry for Megara being the only thing that stopped her from punching Sebastian anyway.

As harsh as his words were, Alex guessed there was some truth in it. Clary lost her mother, her father was alive but was as good as dead. She thought she had a brother and even that was taken away from her. Alex tried to imagine a world where she didn't have Izzy and shuddered at the thought. 

She needed to talk to Clary. After the whole issue was sorted and Valentine was back in his cell, Alex knocked on Clary's bedroom door.  
"Alex...hey. what are you doing here?" Clary's voice was thick and her eyes were red rimmed.   
"I wanted to thank you. If it hadn't been for your rune we could've lost Megara and Valentine would've escaped again." Alex said   
"I did what was right Alex. Besides, you should thank Sebastian. He's the reason I got my rune to work." Clary grumbled

"I'll thank him when I stop feeling the urge to punch him." Alex said with a roll of his eyes  
"He's not that bad Alex. He did help us a lot." Clary reminded. Alex grimaced 

"Yeah, I don't trust him. I didn't come here to talk about him though." She took a deep sigh and looked at Clary "The stuff he said, it's not true Fray." 

"I'm basically an orphan. How is that not true?" Clary spat bitterly   
"I know it's not the same but you're not alone, no matter what Sebastian said. Family doesn't end in blood Fray, look at Jace for that matter. He may be a Herondale now but he's still my brother and I'll never stop being his sister. The same is true for you." Alex reached forward to tuck a stray lock of Clary's hair behind her ear and then gently squeezed her shoulder.

With a last look, Alex turned to leave before Clary caught her hand   
"Thank you." She said when Alex face her again.   
"You have training tomorrow, be late and I'll stick you to ichor duty." Alex said. Clary laughed at her mock serious tone  
"Aye Aye captain." She said with a salute which she knew Alex found annoying.  
Alex shook her head in exasperation but Clary caught the fond smile on her face as she left.

Clary went back to bed feeling much lighter than she had in a while. 

_'-I'll never stop being his sister, the same is true for you_.'  
Alex didn't say it outright but she admitted she thought of Clary as family. For the first time since her mother's death, Clary felt a little less lonely and a little more hopeful.

Sebastian was wrong. She wasn't alone in this world. How could she forget Luke, who was more her father than Valentine would ever be? Megara was like a pseudo aunt to her and Izzy was the first girl she became best friends with. Jace and Simon, she didn't entirely understand where she stood with them but they will never leave her side, that she was sure of.

Most suprising, yet just as comforting, was knowing she had a big sister who always does everything in her power to protect her siblings.  
She had Alex.

She would never be alone.

4\. Between season 2 finale and season 3

Alex and Clary were on patrol together. Jace was feeling unwell and Alex refused to let him come. Since they were searching a rogue vampire den Izzy decided it would be best if she sat this one out.

So Alex went with Clary instead. Searching for the den had been easy, but they hadn't expected so many of them. Soon the girls found themselves surrounded by vampires, atleast thirty of them. 

"Clary! Sunlight rune." Alex yelled and Clary quickly complied. The vamps in the front were instantly obliterated and the rest were smart enough to avoid Clary.

They started focusing on Alex instead, who grinned because that had been her plan all along. Clary too understood her plan but before she could move towards Alex, a vampire caught her from behind, preventing her from using the rune again.

"You've been a menace Clary Fairchild. But we've heard rumors about your blood. I've been dreaming of tasting an angel." The vampire purred in her ear. Clary struggled in his hold but he had a vice like grip on her. Alex was still fighting off five vamps at once so she couldn't help Clary at the moment.

Before the vampire could bite her neck, Clary remembered the disarming technique Alex taught her and used it to get out of his grip and then kneed him in the groin.

"You little bitch!" The vampire yelled "you think you can take me? Huh? You little-" 

"Hey" Alex yelled and suddenly, she was standing between her and the vampire. "She may be an annoying little midget but she's _my_ annoying little midget so back off. I'm the only one who gets to bully her." Then in a single movement, Alex killed the vampire and he turned to dust.

"You alright?" Alex asked Clary, checking her for wounds. Clary nodded, breathing heavily. She then regained her senses and punched Alex in the arm

"Ow! What was that for?" Alex exclaimed   
"You wanted them to come after you! You could've been killed!" Clary yelled in anger and fear  
"Relax, most of them ran away. We'll need to get another team to round them up." Alex said with a grimace

"That's not the point. You did that to protect me. You can't do that. You can't throw yourself in danger for me." Clary looked close to hysterics now. Jace's dead body and the Angel's wish was still weighing her down. She couldn't bear the thought of losing someone else she cares about. Not again. 

"Hey! Listen to me Fray, I'm alright. I did that because I knew I could take it. There were too many of them and your runes might be incredible but you still need more training. You don't reach our level of skillset with just a few months of practice so I gotta look out for you on the field." Alex explained in a surprisingly gentle voice

Clary nodded, too tired to argue  
"Annoying little midget?" She asked with narrowed eyes  
Alex grinned and threw an arm over Clary's shoulder   
"Wouldn't have you any other way."

5\. 3×7

Clary was bleeding out on top of that car and Simon had no idea what to do. She was clearly in no position to use her stele for an iratze and Simon couldn't do it for her.

He called the first person he could think of to help them and incidentally, that person turned out to be Alex  
"What, Simon?" Alex asked gruffly. She was still in the cab, drunk and annoyed at Megara  
"Alex! I-uh, it's Clary. She's hurt, like really hurt and I don't know what to do." Simon was hyperventilating now  
"Simon, hey. Breathe." Alex ordered and Simon took a deep breath before telling her everything.  
Clary heard Simon call Alex and felt instantly reassured. Alex was coming, she'll know what to do. She'll know how to help Jace. Slowly, she felt her eyes closing until a hand patting her cheek brought her back to conciousness  
"Hey Fray. You gotta stay awake. Can you do that for me? Clary?" Alex was hovering over her, concern and fear written on her face.  
"Megara is at the institute with Izzy. She'll be opening a portal any second now." Alex explained as she activated Clary's iratze rune. Clary felt her bones healing slowly but it wouldn't be enough. 

Simon carried her when the portal opened and the last thing she remembered was the concerned faces of her friends as she slipped into unconscious.  
When Clary woke up, Alex was sitting on a chair next to her bed.   
"How's the pain?" She asked   
"It's better. I don't feel any pain." Clary said, sitting up. Megara must've healed her.

"Who did this?" Alex asked in softly. The controlled fury in her voice was far more terrifying than Jace's anger and Clary flinched at her tone

"Jace." She whispered, trying to hold back tears.  
A multitude of emotions passed through Alex's face; shock, anger, confusion, worry and then a blank mask replaced them all.

"If you're feeling up to it get dressed and come to the ops center. The others are already there, searching for Jace." With that, Alex left the room. Clary knew Alex was giving her a chance to control her emotions and for that, she was grateful 

At the ops center, everyone thought Alex would punch Clary after she admitted what she'd done. Clary felt like she would've deserved it since she constantly lied to Alex even after she asked her multiple times if something had happened to Jace.

But Alex hugged her instead. Clary clutched her tightly, too afraid to let go. She felt safe here, protected.

"We'll get him back. I promise." Alex said and Clary felt the knot in her chest unravel. 

"Maybe you should report this to the clave? Maybe they can help Jace, even if it means sending me to the gard." Clary said. Surely Alex would prioritize her parabatai over her right?  
Alex tightened her grip around Clary's shoulders 

"I'm not trading one person I love for another. That's not how family works Clary." She said and it was the use of her name that made her look up. Alex only called her by her first name when she was serious, otherwise it was always Fray or Red or little girl.

"We'll get him back?" Clary asked  
"Of course. We'll help Jace, and this time you're not alone. We'll do it together, okay?"

Clary nodded and buried her face in Alex's shoulder again.   
They would do this.   
Together

6\. 3×16

Clary was headed to Alex's office to ask her about a patrol when she heard voices coming from inside. The door was ajar and Clary was about to announce her presence when she heard her name

"-to help Clary. We gotta get that damn twinning rune off her Catarina and we gotta do it fast." Alex was saying. 

Through the crack of the door, Clary could see Alex sitting at her desk and Catarina standing beside her with her hands on her hips and a stern expression.  
"You've been awake for two days Alex. Megara is fine now and there are others helping Clary. You need to rest."  
Megara was resting after the whole debacle with Lorenzo's magic. 

"I can't. I just need to search this book, the damn thing is written in latin so the translation is taking a while. I just need to finish this Cat."  
Catarina was silent for a moment 

"I didn't know you cared that much about her." She admitted  
"What?" Alex asked, looking at Catarina incredulously 

"When everyone thought Clary was dead, Megara called me and cried for nearly an hour. But you seemed pretty put together and I thought.." Catarina trailed off  
Alex sighed and palmed her eyes tiredly 

"When we thought Clary died, everyone was a mess. Jace lost the love of his life and Simon lost his best friends, they both blamed themselves for her death. Izzy and Clary may not have a rune but they're basically parabatai, and Izzy was devastated. Luke lost his daughter and Megara lost someone she considers her niece. Everyone was falling apart Cat, I couldn't afford to break down myself." Alex took a deep breath before continuing "I guess I was so caught up in taking care of everyone else, I didn't stop to consider that I lost a sister." Alex admitted. It was a mark of how utterly exhausted she was that she let Cat see the tears in her eyes 

"Oh sweetie." Cat exclaimed and hugged Alex. Clary stood outside the door, holding back tears of her own. 

"I need to- I need to finish this Cat. We can't lose her again. _I_ can't lose her again. " Alex said   
"I know. But you're useless to everyone if you pass out from fatigue. A few hours of sleep, that's all I'm asking. Besides, Megara shouldn't be alone right now dont you think?" Cat said and that sealed the deal for Alex. Clary quickly left before Alex or Catarina could catch her eavesdropping 

Clary was always slightly envious of the bond Izzy and Alex had. Her whole life she wished she had an older sister or brother and Alex was everything anyone could hope for in a sibling.  
She thought of Jonathon, locked up in the cell at the institute. She was constantly mourning the older sibling she could've had, desperately wishing her brother could love her the way Alex loved her siblings, but she knew that wasn't possible. 

But Alex considered her her sister and while she may not love her the way she loves Izzy yet, even the thought that Clary could have what Izzy has with Alex gave her hope. 

+1. Post 3×20

It had been three days since Megara sacrificed herself to save Alicante and Alex was a wreck.  
She hadn't eaten or slept and was frantically researching ways to go to Edom and bring Megara back. 

Izzy and Jace finally put their foot down and dragged Alex out of her office to get some lunch. 

Alex was sitting opposite to Jace and Izzy, listening to them talk about a patrol they went on while she half heartedly picked at her food.  
In the table behind her, two new trainees were sitting with their backs faced to them. Jace and Izzy couldn't hear them but Alex was sitting closer and could hear everything they said

"I heard they got engaged! Imagine, a Downworlder marrying a shadowhunter." One of them said  
Alex stiffened in her seat. The two trainees had been sent from Idris only a week ago and they still didn't learn how things operated at the New York institute. 

"What's worse they're both women." The other one said in disgust   
"Lightwood hasn't been doing her duties either. Imagine compromising the entire institute just because she's hung up on one Downworlder."

"Honestly her kind shouldn't be allowed such a high position. Its disgusting that we need to follow orders from someone with her....proclivities." 

By then, the two shadowhunters were loud enough that even Jace and Izzy and probably the entire dining hall had heard them.  
Jace looked murderous and Izzy was already half standing, about to give them a piece of her mind

Before either of them could react, however, a new voice rang through the hall  
"Hey!" Clary shouted, glaring at the two idiots. She had been on her way to join her friends at the table when she heard them talking shit about Alex and Megara 

"Megara Bane's sacrifice is the only reason why Alicante is still standing so before you get all high and mighty about your angel blood, remember that it's a Downworlder that single handedly saved all Nephilim from immediate doom." Clary said, her voice hard and fierce. 

The two trainees sputtered at her outburst. They must've been dumber than they looked though because one of them glared at Clary and continued spewing bigoted crap 

"Lightwood is incompetent, that has nothing to do with what happened at Alicante. I can only imagine the disgusting things she agreed to do for that warlock if she was willing to help Nephilim. What's it to you anyway Morgenstern? Mind your own business." 

Izzy had to physically stop Jace from killing that man just then, although she seemed do so reluctantly. Alex just stood and listened. She was too grief stricken with Megara's absence to care about what they were saying 

Clary huffed out a humorless laugh and sneered nastily at the trainees. It was nothing like the usually friendly smile she always had and frankly, she looked a little terrifying

"You know it's funny you should call me that. Mind my own business? I'm not gonna stand back and watch when the people I love are hurt. Alex Lightwood is my big _sister_ and she's the best damn thing that could ever happen to this institute. So if you ever think about questioning her authority again then you're gonna have to go through me." 

Any other time, Alex would've found it hilarious. The two men were a foot taller and twice as big as Clary and yet they were cowering at her threat. Clary growled at them to get out of there and they honest to God ran out of the room.

Jace and Izzy were stunned for a moment but immediately grinned at Clary. Jace looked at his girlfriend with a smug smile while Izzy looked proud.

Alex reached forward and pulled Clary into a hug, not caring that everyone was watching  
"Thank you" she whispered 

"No one messes with my family and gets away with it. Come on Hermana, I'm in the mood for some tacos. We can eat in your office while searching for answers." Clary said and lead Alex out of the dining hall, Jace and Izzy close behind them.

Needless to say no one questioned Alex's relationship with Megara after that, atleast not where Clary could hear them.

Alex thought of how far they'd come since they first met and wondered how life would've been if Clary hadn't stumbled into it. She then saw how Clary looked at her now, with love and trust and affection and decided she didn't want to know.

_'*For there is no friend like a sister_   
_In calm or stormy weather;_   
_To cheer one on the tedious way,_   
_To fetch one if one goes astray,_   
_To lift one if one totters down,_   
_To strengthen whilst one stands'_

**Author's Note:**

> * lines from the poem "the Goblin Market" by Christina Rosetti


End file.
